XXII. AN INDIAN TEMPERANCE SPEECH
annahar, the brave chief, stood up in his wigwam before his fellow chiefs and spoke these words:
“Brothers, hear! and with the heart keep my words. My father, Kimanchee, was a noble chief. He was light of foot; the wind only was quicker. His strong arm was as a branch of the mountain oak. Joy was with him when he came from hunting. His arrow never came back without meat. The eye of my father never grew dim; his strength grew with the days.
“Kimanchee came to the council fires. He and his brother chiefs smoked the pipe of peace. Then the warpath was overgrown with grass. Peace came like the Father of Waters; joy like the leaping waters on the mountain. These were the blessings of Kimanchee and his brothers. They drank at the spring in the forest and grew strong.
“But where is Kimanchee, Swift-foot-of-the-prairie? The Fire Spirit came like the clouds of the north. [[146]]Fire and death were on his wings. The shadows of darkness were before him, and the clouds and coldness of the night fell upon his track.
“The red man fell before the Fire Spirit like the leaves of the forest before the fierce wind. Kimanchee’s eyes grew dim, his arm fell. His swift foot turned from the hunting trail. His arrow came back to him no more. His step was like the buffalo that has been shot.
“He slept with his dog in the sun; when he stood up, his strength was gone. Kimanchee fell. The joy that stood by the door of his wigwam stands there no more.
“He fell like a tree in summer. He fell like a tree torn by lightning, with its green leaves withered on its branches. The red man fell before the fire-water like the green leaves of the forest before the storm wind.
“This is the curse of the fire-water. Kimanchee, Swift-foot-of-the-prairie, is no more. The Fire Spirit has taken my father. His heart is drowned in the fire-water.” [[147]]